Remote controls for motor vehicles include systems relying on the use of vehicle-specific parts, e.g., key fobs, to lock, unlock, or even start the engine of a motor vehicle. More recently, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have equipped vehicles with systems that can be accessed and/or controlled remotely via a mobile device such as a smartphone or computer. For example, some vehicles now come equipped with systems that respond to user commands transmitted from a mobile device by way of an application supported on the mobile device. Vehicle users now may access and command an increasing number of vehicle systems. Merely by way of example, users may access vehicle information such as tire pressure, fuel level, oil level, recent fuel economy via these applications. Additionally, users now may send a variety of vehicle commands by way of these applications, such as unlocking/locking the vehicle, remotely starting the engine, or activating a horn or alarm of the vehicle.
The increasing number of available vehicle commands has led to increased demands placed upon communication systems employed by the vehicle and/or manufacturer for sending and receiving vehicle commands. The intensity of activity the communication systems must support may also widely vary. Merely as one example, a large number of remote start commands typically are sent by users during extreme weather in a given region, while comparatively few are sent when ambient temperatures are less extreme. System activity may also increase on certain days of the week and/or at certain times of day, for example at the end of the business day during the work week when a relatively large number of users are accessing vehicle data as they prepare to leave their office. A variety of other factors impacts system activity, creating a wide swing in system demand. This large variance in activity forces compromises in communication system facility design, as maximizing capability to meet peak demand results in cost inefficiencies during non-peak demand conditions. While rule-based systems may improve efficiency, e.g., by increasing capacity at certain times of day/week or in response to temperature changes, the wide variety of factors impacting system activity intensity still causes system inefficiencies. Additionally, operating conditions of a mobile device being used to send a vehicle command, e.g., battery level or strength of a communication signal, may affect the user experience.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved remote command system and method for vehicles that addresses the above shortcomings.